The High Cost of Energy Drain

Expensive mistakes 

In my years working in digital advertising, I have never heard a single person say that the work is easy. Sure, some tasks become easier and more scalable with experience: duplicating a campaign and copying settings from a previous one, re-using CTAs that have proven to work, or applying a landing page layout that converts.

But everyone in this field knows one thing: staying sharp is critical.

You have to be extremely careful when making changes, because a single mistake can cost you a client, your job, or even your business. You wouldn’t be the first person to publish the wrong ad copy, use an outdated creative, or — worse — accidentally swap the total campaign budget for the daily budget and spend thousands of euros on unapproved media spend.

(Yep… been there. And let’s be honest — everyone makes mistakes.)

Multiple ways to reduce costly errors

There are several ways to reduce the risk of expensive mistakes, and we will explore these in other articles in The Corner. For example:

• Improving your energy at work
• Increasing your focus on tasks
• Standardizing your workflow
• Implementing proper check-and-control principles

In this article, we’ll focus on the first one: energy.

Let’s look at a few situations that may subtly — but meaningfully — impact your energy at work.

Sunday Funday

It’s tempting to close the weekend with a good glass of wine, a long catch-up with a friend on your balcony, or — for some of us — even a late rave (“just a few drinks…”).

I get it. Weekends fly by.

But before you know it, you’ve effectively borrowed energy from the next day. Monday morning arrives, and you’re sitting at your desk with a pounding head and a foggy mind.

In your early 20s, you might bounce back quickly. For many professionals, recovery simply takes longer. One night of “just a bit of fun” can quietly impact the first half of your work week — exactly when many agencies run their most important moments (weekly status updates, reporting cycles, new briefings).

If possible, try winding down earlier on Sunday evening. Even small adjustments can make Monday feel very different.

Your Monday-morning self will thank you.

Rush hour

Mornings can easily become rushed and reactive: a quick coffee, a slice of bread, maybe some cornflakes on the go.

Preparing breakfast can feel like friction, especially when time already feels tight. The good news: small structural tweaks can create a surprising amount of breathing room.

For example:

• Set your alarm 20–30 minutes earlier
• Disable the snooze function
• Prep simple breakfast items in advance (pre-cooked eggs, pre-made sandwiches)
• Experiment with quick blender recipes

You don’t need a perfect morning routine. But reducing morning chaos often translates directly into better focus and steadier energy during the day.

"Manage your energy, not your time." - Tony Schwartz

More coffee, please

Few things beat that first cup of coffee at the office. Assuming the quality of the coffee is decent...

Starting the day in the coffee corner while catching up with colleagues can be both energizing and enjoyable. But there is a point where more coffee starts working against you.

Research shows caffeine can provide a short-term boost, but higher intake - especially when combined with sugary snacks - can contribute to energy crashes later in the day. What many professionals also overlook is the sleep effect.

Higher caffeine intake can make it harder to fall asleep at night. And when sleep quality drops, next-day energy almost always follows.

Paradoxically, loading up on coffee during the day can end up reducing your energy when you need it most.

It's more than just physical...

Energy at work is not purely physical. In many teams, energy drain is also driven by factors such as:

• Low focus
• Low motivation
• Low ownership
• Weak team belonging
• Low team involvement
• Negative team atmosphere
• Strained client dynamics
• Lack of perceived respect
• Inefficient workflows (excessive rules, micro-management)

…and many more variables than we can cover in a single article.

How do you know what causes energy drain in your team?

That’s the hard part.

Because in reality, you can’t really guess what causes energy loss inside a team. For that, you need to understand the actual experience on the work floor.

That’s exactly why we developed the Pro Performance Scan for Teams.

The scan provides structured insight into how energy is experienced within your team, which factors may be contributing to energy loss, and which the biggest opportunities for improvement are.

Completing the scan takes approximately 15 minutes per team member and can be done fully online.